Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system, a communication apparatus, methods of controlling these, and a computer-readable storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
A communication apparatus known in the art has a document transmission function for transmitting electronic data, which has been obtained by reading and outputting an original using a scanner, to an external apparatus connected by a network. With an image processing and transmitting function, a document is transmitted using a technique such as HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or email. In order to manage the addresses of document transmission destinations in a communication apparatus, therefore, the general practice is to adopt an arrangement in which an address book capable of registering a plurality of addresses is stored within the apparatus. Further, the specification of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-202217 proposes a technique in which the address book of a communication apparatus is exported and imported to another communication apparatus, thereby alleviating the labor involved in registering the address book at the other communication apparatus.
However, the problem set forth below is encountered in the prior art. For example, when an address book is exported and imported, no consideration whatsoever is given to the setting status of the network setting in the communication apparatus that is to receive the import. With document transmission using HTTP or FTP, there are cases where a document is transmitted to an Internet address in a wide-area network. A wide-area network is also referred to as a WAN or the Internet and indicates a network other than a LAN (Large-Area Network). In a case where a document is transmitted to an address on a WAN, generally the document is relayed through a proxy server, though this will depend upon the network environment. A proxy server is provided at the boundary of a LAN and WAN and indicates an apparatus serving as a “proxy” for implementing a connection to the WAN by taking the place of an apparatus on the LAN that is incapable of being connected directly to the WAN. In such an environment, it is required that the proxy server information to be relayed be set in the communication apparatus beforehand. Accordingly, even if an address book containing an address on a WAN is imported to a communication apparatus in which proxy server information has not been set, there is the possibility that the address on the WAN will not be usable as is. In other words, even if transmission of a document is executed using the address on the WAN, the document will not be relayed through the proxy server. As a consequence, the document cannot be transmitted to a WAN outside a LAN and the transmission will end in an error.
Further, there are instances where the address information of an address book is expressed by an FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name). When a document is transmitted using an address expressed by FQDN (referred to as an “FQDN address” below), a name-resolution request must be issued to a DNS (Domain Name System) server and an IP address must be obtained from the FQDN address. This means that when an FQDN address is used, it is necessary to set the DNS server information in the communication apparatus beforehand. A server necessary for document transmission in the manner of a proxy server or DNS server will be referred to as a “network communication support server” below. The prior art mentioned above is such that, in a case where an address book necessitating a network communication support server has been imported, there is the possibility that the address book will not be usable as is because no consideration has been given to the setting status of the network communication support server at the import destination. In order to make such an address book usable, it is necessary for the user to take the trouble to set the address of the network communication support server at the import destination. This is a laborious task as far as the user is concerned.